Picking up the Pieces: A Wanderer No More
by TerraKH
Summary: A one-shot taking place 15 years after the ending of RTDoD. This is the final piece of Jack Rikkison's story. He has settled down with his family Mist, Rayne, and his son Pierce. COMPLETE!


**Hey, everyone! If you haven't read my Wanderer's Trilogy, back out now and go read those first! Just warning you, you won't have any idea what's going on.**

**This is just a one-shot, taking place 15 years after the ending of RTDoD. I hope you enjoy it!**

Picking Up the Pieces: A Wanderer No More

15 years after the final war ended….

It was the middle of night on Destiny Islands. Mist tossed and turned in her bed. She finally sat up and accepted the fact that she wasn't going to sleep tonight. She looked to her side to see Jack's side of the bed empty.

Sighing, she got out of her bed and walked down the hallway. She opened the door at the end of the hall and peered in. "Pierce?" she called out. There was no movement or sound. _"That boy snuck out again!" _she furiously thought to herself. She tried to hold in her anger as she walked downstairs and opened the front door.

She found her husband Jack standing several yards away from the house, staring at the sky. "Jack, he's gone again." she told him as she walked up behind him. He nodded.

"I know." he replied. She sighed as she put her arms around him.

"What are we going to do with him? He refuses to listen to either of us!" she asked him angrily. Jack sighed as he turned around. He hugged her tightly.

"He's at that age, sweetheart. He's 15 now, you just have to accept the fact that he's going to be a bit rebellious. Rayne grew out of it, and Pierce will, too." he told her calmly. She sighed, and slowly nodded.

"Take care of this?" she asked him. He smiled and nodded.

"Of course. I think I'm gonna go have Rayne help me. He might even be over there now." he told her. Mist nodded at him as she walked back inside and went back to bed.

Jack sighed and continued staring at the sky for several moments. He activated his wrist communicator. "Marek?" he spoke into it.

"_Yeah, what's up, Bud? I'm here." _his brother replied. Marek had undertaken a life-long task of rebuilding everything that his Illusion persona had destroyed. Even now, 15 years later, he was still busy all the time.

"Pierce ran off again. Can you do a scan of the island for me?" Jack asked him.

"_Hang on a minute." _Marek replied. _"He's not anywhere near you. He's at Rayne's house now. But it looks like he's planning to head out somewhere. That all you need?" _Marek explained. Jack smiled.

"Yeah, that's it. See you tomorrow?" he asked him.

"_Wouldn't miss Mist's cooking. See you, Brother." _Marek shut off the communication. Jack began the long walk to his daughter's house.

Rayne had proven to be a prodigy with technology. Her abilities alone had put Destiny Islands under a massive reconstruction. She was 27 now, and Jack and Mist were both 34. Pierce was the baby of the family, being only 15. He often acted out, though Jack could not fathom why.

Jack's father Jason had taken over Yen Sid's place as watcher of the worlds. He frequently kept in touch with both of his sons and even occasionally came to see his grandchildren.

Sora and Kairi had gotten married 5 years after the war ended. Kairi was currently pregnant, but she wasn't far along enough to know if it was a boy or girl.

Even though Terra and Aqua had gotten married barely a year after the war, Terra often took Riku and Ven to help Master Eraqus train his new batch of apprentices. Aqua and Mist spent a lot of time together while the men were gone.

Lea, Roxas, Namine, and Xion dropped in a couple times a year to see everyone, but they never bothered to keep in touch.

Jack reached his daughter's small house about an hour later. It had been years since he had summoned his Keyblade, and didn't rely on it for transportation anymore. His reasoning behind it was that he didn't want Pierce to want one. Having one child with a Keyblade was bad enough.

He knocked on her door and waited. After several minutes, Rayne opened the door groggily. But for someone who acted like she just woke up, her hair was perfectly kempt, and she wore her normal clothes. "Hey, Dad. What's the big reason for waking me up at 3 in the morning?" she asked him sleepily.

"Rayne, please don't play this game with me. I know he's here." Jack told her tiredly. Rayne was taken aback by his sincerity, and held her ground.

"Pierce isn't here, Dad." she told him.

"I had Marek scan the island." he told her, losing his patience. Rayne had nothing to say, so she stepped aside. Jack sighed as he walked in and looked around. Rayne had a small house, having two bedrooms. "Pierce, come out now and I won't punish you." he announced. There was silence as Rayne shut the door behind him. He sighed angrily. "One…" he began. Still nothing. "Two….." he continued.

"Fine!" yelled an irritated voice. Pierce stood up from behind the couch and stretched. The brown-haired boy had a short-sleeve gray shirt on, much like Terra's. His white camo pants reached past his ankles, and his black vest was the exact same one his father had worn at one time.

"What's the purpose of sneaking out and coming to your sister's house this early in the morning?" Jack asked him, trying to stay calm. Pierce rolled his eyes.

"I'm 15, Dad! I don't need to be treated like a kid!" they boy heatedly replied. Jack's face contorted in anger, but he tried to hold it in. Pierce knew he had gone too far. "I just wanted to talk to Rayne about some things!" he quickly explained. Jack's anger was changed to curiosity.

"What things?" he asked him. Pierce's face fell instantly. He looked at Rayne for help. His sister gave him a sympathetic look as she touched Jack's shoulder.

"He was asking me about girls. He wants to know how to ask one of them out." she told him, winking at her little brother. Pierce smiled and quickly nodded. Jack raised an eyebrow at them. "Baby brother's already trying to catch girls' attention." Rayne said laughingly. Pierce stuck his tongue out at her, his green eyes so like his mother's glaring at her. Jack rubbed his temples.

"I didn't think I'd have to do this yet, Pierce….." he muttered. His son looked at him curiously.

"Have to do what, Dad?" he asked. Rayne looked at him, too.

"The talk." Jack replied. Rayne shook her head.

"You can do that at your house! I already had to deal with it once, Dad, and it was as awkward as Lea getting his butt kicked by Uncle Marek!" she exclaimed, opening the door for them. Jack grabbed Pierce's arm firmly as he led him home.

"What is wrong, Pierce? You keep sneaking out every night! I can't hold your mom's anger off forever. She's one or two breakdowns away from the point of no return." Jack told him as they walked along the beach. Pierce said nothing. "Silence isn't an answer, Pierce." Jack told him warningly. Pierce sighed as he stopped and faced the ocean.

"You keep all these secrets, Dad." he said quietly. Jack narrowed his eyes curiously as he stepped next to his son.

"What secrets am I keeping from you?" he asked him.

"The Keyblade." Pierce said immediately, but quickly slapped his hand over his mouth in disbelief. Jack turned to him calmly. "Rayne told me, please don't be mad!" his son burst out. Instead of yelling, Jack sighed.

"I haven't told you about my Keyblade because I don't want you to want one. I would take Rayne's back if I could. The only reason I gave her one is because we were in the war and she needed to defend herself." he explained. Pierce looked at him eagerly.

"But someone has to carry on when you're gone! I'm your son, Dad! Train me, and help me be ready to make you proud one day!" he begged. Jack looked at him lovingly.

"I'm already proud of you, Pierce. More than you can imagine. You're a Rikkison. Greatness is in your blood." he told him, smiling. Pierce smiled.

"So does that mean you'll give me one?" he asked eagerly.

"We'll see." Jack replied as they began walking toward the house again.

"Is that a yes?" Pierce persisted.

"Pierce Alexander Rikkison….." Jack warned.

"I'm just kidding, Dad!" he quickly said. "Thanks for not punishing me for sneaking out." he told him. Jack looked at him sympathetically.

"I promised that _I _wouldn't punish you. I couldn't promise for your mom." he told him. Pierce's face fell immediately.

"But, Dad…..!" he began.

"Pierce!" Mist yelled, running out the door. Jack handed his son over to his mother. Pierce looked back at his father and smiled as they walked into the house.

A MONTH LATER…..

"You're lucky I'm letting you do this, Pierce. If I hear one account of misbehavior for Master Eraqus…." Jack began.

"You won't!" Pierce assured. They were standing in front of Mickey's waiting Gummi Ship on the beach.

"Now, Eraqus will teach and train you. The Keyblade is not a toy, Son. Use what you learn for good. I'm letting you gain the Keyblade against my better judgment, but you persisted so much that it drove me crazy. Behave for Eraqus and behave for Terra, Riku, and Ven, too. I love you, Pierce." Jack told him firmly, hugging his son tightly.

"I love you too, Dad." Pierce told him as they broke apart. After a hug and kiss goodbye from Rayne and Mist, Pierce walked up the ramp and disappeared inside the ship. Jack and Mist walked back inside and sat on the couch.

"I think he's going to be okay." Mist told him. Jack smiled.

"I had to give him "the talk" last week. Let's hope he doesn't get Eraqus' favorite girl apprentice pregnant." he replied. Mist raised her eyebrows.

"If he does, for the rest of his life, he'll be using the bathroom without a certain male organ." she told him. Jack cringed at the thought.

"I always thought that I would never walk off the battlefield, Mist. I wandered for so long, I had forgotten what it was like to have a home. I'm glad our family has changed me. I'm glad to have a place where I belong." he told her. She smiled as she leaned against him and closed her eyes.

And so Jack Rikkison no longer considered himself a Wanderer. He put aside that title for something far more important: Father.

Pierce would grow up to be a Keyblader strong enough to rival the power of his father, and possibly even surpass him and others such as Sora and Terra. He grew up and alongside his sister Rayne, led the new generation of Keybladers in exterminating whatever Heartless and Darkness had escaped Jack's gaze.

Jack Rikkison successfully picked up the pieces of his shattered life, and put them back together, giving him and his family a home and a legacy. He and his family lived on Destiny Islands alongside Sora and the others, until they passed out of time and became legends.

**And Jack's story ends here(except for the Drabbles and non-canon Dissidia story). I hope you enjoyed this final piece of Jack's story! Leave a review, and I'll see you again in Dissidia and WC: USoTAVJ! **


End file.
